14. Fiddlehead by Cherie Priest
This is the (probably) final book of Priest's Clockwork Century series, which are all about steampunk and zombies. Zombies aren't really my scene, but I have on occasion held a passing interest in steampunk, which is what got me into the series. I found the first book of the series, Boneshaker, at a small bookstore in Manzanita, Oregon, and was unable to put it down. (This was also the place where I kicked the Pacific Ocean. It was a good day.) I've been keeping up with the series ever since.
The series in a nutshell: a mysterious gas flooded Seattle that turns people into zombies. Enterprising criminals found a way to turn it into a drug (which also zombifies, but at a slower pace.) This has had ramifications on the Civil War, which is still going on in the 1880s (because of course it is.) Also, there's airships and airship pirates (because goddamn right there are.)
In Fiddlehead, a scientist has invented the world's first "thinking engine," which tells him that both sides are going to lose the Civil War because of the undead menace. Also, a Confederate businesswoman switches sides with an offer of a new superweapon that will help them win the war. There's intrigue and action and returning characters and airship battles and an assault on the home of Paralyzed Former President Lincoln (with defense lead by Freshly Sober Current President Grant.) Good times.
The pacing gets weird at times, in part because it switches between two action sequences (which only slows down both of them.) Overall, though, it's still pretty fun. It's a solid effort that falls in line with the trends of the series--the books based in Seattle (Boneshaker, The Inexplicables) are vastly superior to the ones that don't (Dreadnought, Ganymede, Fiddlehead.)
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